; R o o t E n t r y F !p(F C o m p O b j b W o r d D o c u m e n t O b j e c t P o o l n(F n(F 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; F Microsoft Word 6.0 Document MSWordDoc Word.Document.6 ; 9424571 It has long been known that inbreeding, the mating of closely related individuals, is unhealthy to both individual offspring and the population as a whole. Theoretical studies show this conclusively, as do domestic animal matings, where inbred cows or dogs or horses are much less healthy, or much less fit, than outbred animals. Further, inbreeding causes a population to lose genetic variation, which means its ability to adapt genetically to a changing environment may be impaired. Today, conservation biologists are often responsible for managing small, threatened populations of native species, which may be susceptible to inbreeding and resultant loss of genetic variation. Unfortunately, little is known about the relationship of genetic variation and fitness (longevity, disease resistance, reproductive success) in the wild. To analyze this problem Dr. Soule, will study naturally occurring populations of an animal that is particularly well suited for this research - pocket gophers - small, burrowing rodents that are common throughout California. Earlier studies of different gopher popula tions showed that some have unusually high levels of genetic variation, while some have extremely low levels. But do these genetic differences affect fitness? The physiological vigor of animals will be measured in two ways - metabolic rate during normal activity (burrowing) and by determining which animals assimilate and use food most efficiently. Dr. Soule will also determine which animals survive and reproduce best in nature. He will then determine if the animals which are the most fit are the ones which have the most genetic variation within their population, or if animals from genetically variable populations are generally most fit that animals from less variable populations. Finally, he will assess which measurements of genetic variation are most informative in these comparisons. In the long run this type of study will help to determine how best to measure genetic variation in threatened species and whether genetic variation is a significant factor in survival or overall health. ; S u m m a r y I n f o r m a t i o n ( 0 Oh +' 0 $ H l D h R:WWUSERTEMPLATENORMAL.DOT 9424571 ebehrens ebehrens @ 9JX(F @ @ 9JX(F @ Microsoft Word 6.0 1 ; e = e J J j j j j j j j + 1 # } T + + j + j j j j ~ j j j j 9424571 It has long been known that inbreeding, the mating of closely related individuals, is unhealthy to both individual offspring and the population as a whole. Theoretical studies show this conclusively, as do domestic animal matings, where inbred cows or dogs or horses are much less healthy, or much less fit, than outbred animals. Further, inbreeding causes a population to lose genetic variation, which means its ability to adapt genetically to a changing environment may be impaired. Today, conservation biologists are often responsible for managing small, thr
